Casing pipe installation

The casing is installed in one of two ways:

1. The well is drilled with a drill larger in diameter than the casing pipe, after which it is lowered into a ready-made shaft, gradually increasing it and holding it with a drill collar. The space between the pipe and the walls of the well is filled with gravel, clay or concrete. This method is used on dense, non-flowing or viscous soils at a depth of up to 10 m.
2. Drilling is carried out with a drill of smaller diameter. In parallel with drilling, the casing pipe is forcefully driven into the barrel, for which its lower end is equipped with a cutting element - a milling cutter. This method is more reliable. But it cannot be used on viscous soils.

Today, both metal and polymer casings are used.

Casing pipe installation

In both cases, you should not take an ordinary water pipe, but one specially made for this function. Plastic casing can easily be damaged by a drill or string from the inside. Therefore, in cases where casing is carried out simultaneously with drilling, spring centralizers should be installed on the drill rod every 3–5 m.

Metal casing pipes are extended using threaded couplings or electric welding, plastic casing pipes are extended using a socket connection or couplings that are glued or welded. In the latter case (it is the most preferred) apply special tool– a soldering iron that melts the walls of the pipe and coupling, after which they are combined into a single piece.

You have decided to build a well on own plot to provide your home and family with enough clean water? However, were you shocked by the amount it would cost to drill it? Agree that this event, although quite expensive, is extremely necessary.

Expensive naturally forces us to look for an alternative to the services of drillers. We will tell you how to drill a well with your own hands. We will help you understand the features of excavation and arrangement of a water source - this is a completely feasible task for those who are not afraid of hard work.

The article discusses different ways well construction. After reading them, you will understand whether you can perform all the necessary operations. For better assimilation of the information provided, the article is equipped with step by step photos and videos that record the process of drilling and making drilling tools at home.

Before starting drilling work, you should study the composition of the soil on the site in order to at least roughly imagine your future well.

Depending on the characteristics of the aquifer, three types of wells are distinguished:

• Abyssinian well;
• filter well;
• artesian well.

The Abyssinian well (or needle well) can be installed almost everywhere. They break it where the aquifer lies relatively close to the surface and is confined to sand.

To drill it, they use driving technology, which is not suitable for constructing other types of wells. All work can usually be completed within one business day.

This diagram allows you to study the design features of various wells in order to better understand their drilling technology and choose the appropriate method (click to enlarge)

But the flow rate of such wells is small. To provide the house and site with enough water, sometimes it makes sense to make two such wells on the site. The compact dimensions of the equipment make it possible to install such a well directly in the basement without any problems.

Filter wells, which are also called “sand” wells, are created on soils where the aquifer lies relatively shallow - up to 35 meters.

These are usually sandy soils that lend themselves well to drilling. The depth of the filter well usually varies between 20-30 meters.

Of course, drilling such wells is more difficult, and the work will take much more time and materials. A professional team can complete the work in 5-10 days. But if we are drilling, it may take several weeks, or even a month or two.

But the effort is worth it, because artesian wells can last for half a century, or even more, without problems. And the flow rate of such a well makes it possible to supply water not only to one house, but also to a small village. Only manual drilling methods are not suitable for constructing such a mine.

The physical and mechanical properties of soils are also of great importance when choosing a drilling method.

During the work, you may need to go through a variety of layers, for example:

• wet sand, which can be drilled in almost any way relatively easily;
• water-saturated sand, which can only be removed from the barrel using a bailer;
• coarse rocks(gravel and pebble deposits with sand and clay aggregates), which are drilled with a bailer or a glass, depending on the aggregate;
• quicksand, which is fine sand, supersaturated with water, it can only be scooped out with a bailer;
• loam, i.e. sand with abundant inclusions of clay, plastic soil that can be easily drilled with an auger or core glass;
• clay, plastic rock, which can be drilled with an auger or glass.

How do you find out what soils lie beneath the surface and at what depth is the aquifer? Of course, you can order geological studies of the soil, but this procedure is not free of charge.

Almost everyone chooses a simpler and cheap option– a survey of neighbors who have already drilled a well or built a well. The water level in your future water source will be approximately the same depth.

Drilling a new well a short distance from an existing structure may not follow exactly the same scenario, but it will most likely be very similar.

Simple methods of drilling wells

Professional drillers have the equipment and tools that allow them to drill in just a couple of days. But an amateur craftsman usually has neither such tools nor the skills to work with them. However, there are drilling methods that do not require this. The most commonly used drilling methods are auger drilling or the percussion-rope method.

Method #1 - drilling with an auger

As the name suggests, this drilling method uses an auger or drill. The device is a rod with a working tool attached to the end of it. This drilling method also uses a bit to break up boulders if necessary. The design of the auger resembles a screw, the diameter of which can vary.

It is literally screwed into the ground, and the propeller blades help remove drilled rock from the trunk.

When drilling an Abyssinian well, first use a narrow auger drill to get through the hard ground and reach the quicksand

The hose is not lowered into such a well; its role is played by the narrow pipe itself. The pump is installed directly on the top of the Abyssinian well.

The casing pipe, which at the same time serves as the mine shaft, is extended in sections of 1-3 meters, and the threaded connections are carefully sealed using winding and silicone sealant. Its compact dimensions make it possible to install such a well even in the basement of a private house, so as not to take up space on the site.

The Abyssinian well is also called a needle well, since the casing pipe with a filter tip actually resembles a needle. The threaded connections of such a pipe should be carefully sealed

To make a needle well filter, a series of holes with a diameter of about 10 mm are made on the bottom of the pipe. The perforated area is covered from the outside with a layer of special metal mesh galloon weaving. Such a filter will reliably prevent fine sand from entering the well.

When figuring out how to drill a needle well yourself, close attention should be paid to the method of driving a string of narrow casing pipes. This operation can be performed using a barbell or headstock. A long metal rod is used as a rod, which is gradually increased as it descends along with the casing.

The impacts of the rod during operation fall on the tip. At the same time, the pipe connections also experience additional stress and may become deformed. Sometimes, with strong impacts, the coupling connection can simply break during the driving process, and this is unacceptable. The headstock is a weight with a hole.

A special head is placed on the upper end of the casing pipe, which is struck in order to drive the pipe to the required depth. With this method of driving, the load is distributed more evenly, but the integrity of the connections is still at risk. Therefore, only high-quality materials should be used to drill an Abyssinian well.

In this case, only a threaded connection that is coaxial with the center of the pipe is appropriate. This type of carving can only be done correctly using lathe. A broken pipe will cause a lot of trouble for the foreman, since a piece of column stuck in the ground is almost impossible to pull out.

The work will have to start all over again, and costs will increase significantly. But if for some reason it was not possible to drill an Abyssinian well, almost all materials can be reused.

Manufacturing of drilling tools

As mentioned earlier, drilling devices can be made independently, borrowed from friends, or purchased industrially produced products.

Sometimes a drilling rig can be rented. However, the goal self-drilling usually consists of keeping costs as low as possible. The easiest way to do drilling cheaply is to do it.

A shoe with a petal valve is attached to the bottom of the bailer. The valve looks like a round plate that tightly closes the lower section of the pipe and is pressed by a fairly powerful spring.

However, a spring that is too tight is not needed here, otherwise the soil simply will not get into the bailer. When pulling out the bailer, the valve will be pressed not only by the spring, but also by the soil collected inside.

The lower edge of the bailer is sharpened inward. Sometimes sharp pieces of reinforcement or sharpened pieces of triangular-shaped metal are welded at the edge.

A protective mesh is made from thick wire on top and a handle is welded to which a metal cable is attached. The glass is made in a similar way, only a valve is not needed here, and a slot should be made in the body to clean the device.

Image gallery

Step 10: Drilling through holes passing through the pipe and frame Step 14: We attach an earring to the welded section of the reinforcement to which the cable will be attached

After the well is ready, you should pay attention to a number of important nuances. For example, in order for the water in the well to remain fresh, it is necessary to ensure an influx of fresh air into the casing.

To do this, they do several ventilation holes. Upper part the well should not be walled up; it should be covered with a hinged lid so that, if necessary, you can remove the pump, inspect the column, etc.

At the end of the work, you should definitely submit the water from the well for analysis to check for the content of various impurities. Any problems with water condition are usually solved by selecting suitable filters.

Water is not taken for analysis immediately after drilling, but after some time, so that contaminants caused by drilling are removed from it.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Video #1. Review of various homemade instruments for drilling - drills, bailers and other projectiles:

Did you find any unclear points while reading the article? Do you want to ask questions on the topic? Please write comments in the block located under the text of the article.

As a rule, manual well drilling technology is resorted to when it is necessary to provide a dacha or private house water supply Sometimes a well is chosen for this function, but a water well is still preferable - it has a number of advantages:

1. Long service life;
2. Aquifers lie deep underground, which helps extract more clean water;
3. The rate of water replenishment at wells (the so-called flow rate) is much higher than at wells.

There are several drilling technologies and borehole structures themselves. The process of drilling water wells with your own hands is much simpler than it might seem at first. The methods described below do not require the purchase and use of expensive, complex equipment or special highly specialized knowledge. Manual drilling of wells is within the capabilities of every man.

Types of wells

Verkhovodka

The uppermost layer is the upper waters - they lie approximately 10 m from the surface. Sometimes they are used to provide water, but this is not recommended. For safe use Such water requires constant sanitary checks - high water is rarely suitable for drinking, more often it is used for technical needs.

Well on sand

Typically, wells are drilled to a non-confined formation - it lies approximately 5-20 m from the surface and is much safer for drinking than water from the upper formation. A well in a non-confined formation is called a sand well. Before you start drinking water, it is still recommended to have it checked by a sanitary organization, but obtaining a positive conclusion is much more likely.

A free-flow formation has no pressure, and for safe operation Filtering of small soil particles is imperative. The flow rate of such a well is approximately 2 cubic meters. m/day.

Well for limestone

The highest quality water is obtained from it. The depth of such wells for limestone can range from 7 to 50 m. The composition of the aquifer includes: loam, limestone and water-resistant rock. It is precisely such wells that contain water of very high quality and therefore, to ensure the supply of drinking water It is better to drill water wells with your own hands in limestone.

The formation has its own pressure - this helps to raise water to the surface. The debit is equal to 5 cubic meters. m/day However, before using the water, it is recommended to carry out a sanitary check. The important advantages of such a well over all others are:

• long service life;
• simplified water supply system, due to the presence of its own pressure at the well;
• stable daily debit;
• no need for a sand filter;
• high quality and water purity.

An artesian well is located in interstratal waters and provides the highest quality and unique purity of water. The depth of such a well lies from 30 to 50 m deep, so it is almost impossible to drill it manually.

And it’s not worth trying to drill a water well in such a formation yourself, since artesian waters are considered valuable natural resource and are protected by law.

Drilling depth

Before starting work, it is necessary to determine the depth of the planned well, for which you need to know at what depth the aquifer lies. To do this, it is necessary to conduct geological research or at least ask the neighbors operating the well about the depth of their well. Even today, there are folk experts, dowsers, who are able to find the closest location of water from the surface of the earth.

Based on their depth, wells are divided into three main types:

1. Shallow- no more than 3 m. It is recommended to drill such a well if the water from it will be used only for technological and operational needs.
2. Medium deep– no more than 7 m. Such a well is created if the produced water will be used both for technical and drinking water, but with questionable quality;
3. Deep- more than 7 m. This type of well is made when there is a need for a large amount of drinking water.

Methods for self-drilling wells

Hydro drilling

Hydrodrilling is carried out by supplying water with a pump into the drill string (pipe) at the bottom of which there are special holes. Water erodes the soil below and rises up into the pit into the gap between the drill pipe and the walls of the well. Most of the soil raised with water settles in the pit, and the water itself enters the second pit in purified form.

The drilling pump pumps out purified water from the 2nd pit and supplies it to the pump. As a result of the closed cycle, water consumption is relatively small.
As the well deepens, the drill pipe is extended with additional threaded pipes.

When the drilling work is completed, the casing is lowered into the well. The casing pipe is equipped with a filter in drilled holes or cuts and is located at the end of the casing pipe. Typically, the filter is about 1 m long.

Auger drilling

This type of drilling is carried out using a steel pipe equipped with welded blades in a spiral. Such a drill is also called an auger; it is convenient for drilling soft or medium-hard soils, but is contraindicated in the presence of stony or rocky soil.

Drilling technology using an auger drill is as follows:

1. By rotating, the drill is driven into the ground.
2. When the auger goes into the ground to its full depth (or the rotation force becomes very large), it is removed and the soil is cleared from the blades. To facilitate the rotation of the drill, you can pour water into the well.
3. The pipe is extended from above to the drill and it is lowered into the ground again;
4. The procedure continues until the aquifer is reached.

Mostly, auger drilling is used in professional drilling rigs, but work can also be carried out with manual augers. Working with such a drill is not easy; the process itself requires certain skills and knowledge.

Needle hole

Alternative title: Abyssinian well- This is, rather, not a drilling method, but the direct driving of a pipe through which water will flow into the ground. The tool is a rod with a cone-shaped tip, the maximum diameter of which is greater than the diameter of the pipe being driven.

Pipes for a needle well are thick-walled water pipes, the diameter of which varies from 25 to 32 m. Required condition for such pipes there is a tightness, since they are driven into the ground once and for all. If pipes are joined by welding, the welder must have sufficient qualifications to ensure tightness. If pipes are threaded together, sealing and sealing is required threaded connection.

Design of the Abyssinian well:

1. Needle;
2. Filter - drilled holes in the bottom of the pipe for the aquifer;
3. Wire and a small stainless steel mesh over the drilled holes, which must be welded to the pipe so that they do not come off when hammered.

The wire must be made of stainless steel in order to avoid electrolytic corrosion when using wire made of copper or brass.

In order not to break the upper end of the pipe when driving it into the ground, you can use an eccentric or wedge device, put on the pipe. It consists of a ring with an internal cone, into which another conical split ring with an external counter cone or separate conical plates are inserted. The ring is put on the pipe and wedged on the cones so that its downward movement becomes impossible. Next, take the headstock (it is also heavy and a large ring with two handles) and by hitting the wedged ring with the headstock, the pipe is buried in the ground.

Shock-rope method

The shock-rope method of creating wells has earned its popularity due to its simplicity and accessibility. However, this is a rather slow process, since this method requires a lot of physical effort. It can be used with almost any type of soil.

The drilling technology is simple and straightforward, and the process occurs as follows: a tripod is installed, at the upper end of which there is a pulley. A rope has the ability to slide along the pulley, at one end of which a drilling tool is installed; the second end is used to lift the tool manually. The tool is sharply thrown into the well, releasing the rope, and then the tool is pulled to the surface by the rope, where, upon reaching a penetration depth of about 0.5 m, the tool is cleaned.

The following tool is used for such drilling:

• drill-glass, otherwise called Sheetz projectile - designed for working with viscous, highly adhering soils;
• The bailer is a piece of pipe with a spring-loaded flap valve, which opens during impact and closes when rising upward, preventing soil from spilling out. Used when working with loose rock;
• a spoon drill is a piece of pipe with petals bent at the bottom. Used for loose or loose soil;
• a drill bit with a plate in cross section is used to penetrate rock layers.

With the shock-rope method, the casing can be installed and lowered as the well deepens. In this case, the pipe must be metal, since plastic pipe may be damaged from the inside by the drill bit.

Types of casing

The diameter of such a pipe must be selected by checking the parameters of the well and the size and type of pump intended for use. Pipe materials are quite varied and not all of them are safe for use.

Pipe materials:

• asbestos pipes - contain a very strong carcinogen and are therefore very harmful for use;
• galvanized pipes - have a negative effect on the human body, there is a risk of poisoning;
• steel pipes – economical and practical option, however, over time they rust to the point of through corrosion;
• Stainless steel pipes do not have any harmful effects on the human body and, among other things, help to significantly increase the life of the well. The disadvantage of such pipes is the unattractive price of stainless steel and the complex technology of its welding;
• HDPE and PVC pipes(plastic) is one of the most commonly used materials, which has earned such respect due to its availability and low cost. However, they are only suitable for shallow wells (no more than 15 m), since they do not withstand heavy loads and can be damaged from the inside by a submersible pump.

Some nuances

1. It is advisable for a drilled well to undergo pumping, during which water is poured into the gap between the well and the casing pipe and pumped out of the pipe. The option of pumping through a pipe and pumping out between the pipe and the ground is possible, but this method can disrupt the aquifer.
2. Next, it is necessary to daily pump out the entire volume of water from the well to increase flow rate and increase water transparency.
3. To operate a well, it is necessary to use a filter. It is optimal to mount the filter directly to the pump inlet.
4. The service life of a well depends on the regularity of water intake and the amount of water pumped out.

Most country houses are located too far from public water supply networks, and the only option to obtain water is to develop own source. Autonomous water supply for a private cottage is solved by digging a well or creating a well. Both methods require significant physical effort and cash. To guarantee a high-quality result, homeowners invite professionals with special equipment who have experience working in the area to carry out the work; however, drilling water wells with your own hands is also possible.

First, you should decide on the possibility of drilling a water well manually. Obviously, the great depth of the aquifer, as well as too hard layers in the soil, can be a serious obstacle and force one to abandon such an undertaking. The easiest way to find out the geological situation on the site in advance is to use the sources that your neighbors already have. It is necessary to understand from what depth they pump water, how they experienced earthworks. The overall picture will be clear, but as the work progresses, adjustments will have to be made later, because the soil layers do not lie absolutely evenly, and the further away the control well or borehole is, the greater the error.

With horizons of 20 meters or more, many developers no longer dare to use hand tools, although there are examples when people cope with depths of 50-60 meters (the greater the savings, because the prices for penetration are set to the customer in linear meters). At the same time, there are now small drilling rigs driven by an electric motor on sale, the price of which is almost comparable to the cost of drilling an average well. Nobody bothers you to then rent out the device or drill custom-made wells yourself using the installation.

Source options for water supply to a private home

Selecting a well type

In this case, the most critical parameter is the level of the aquifer. For example, if the water is at a depth of up to 8 meters, then you can make a needle-driven well (the so-called “Abyssinian well”), which is supplied with ordinary surface pump. It is performed with preliminary drilling or direct driving of relatively thin (for example, inch) steel pipe into the ground.

If the water bearers are lower, then pumping equipment You will already need a submersible one, which can raise water to the height necessary to power the house. Accordingly, here you will have to drill a well manually in any case, and the net diameter of the pipe passage must be at least 80 mm in order to install deep well pump 3 inches, or 100-110 mm - for a 4-inch unit. Taking into account the thickness of the walls of the casing pipes (for plastic ones it is about 5-8 mm) and some reserve for trouble-free installation of the column, you need to drill with a diameter of 20-30 mm more. Equipment is selected based on this indicator.

Sources autonomous water supply It is customary to divide wells into sand and artesian (limestone). The first ones are used for up to 15 years and produce about 1.5 cubic meters of water per hour. Their depth is from 15 to 40 meters, which allows you to do the work yourself, but forces you to carefully choose the place for them. In a deep artesian well the water is cleaner, the source can work without overhaul up to 50 years or more, its productivity is significantly higher.

Auger drilling of a well using a motorized drill

The main stages of drilling a well with your own hands

Independent arrangement wells almost always assume that water will be produced from a shallow sand formation. Therefore, it is necessary to move as far as possible from sources of soil pollution, such as drainage or septic tanks. To reduce the depth of excavation, it makes sense to choose the lowest place on the site, especially if it is on a slope.

Before drilling a well by hand, it is recommended to make a pit in the working area, thanks to which loose soil will not crumble into the face during work. Its dimensions should be approximately 2 X 2 meters in area and up to 1 meter in depth. Sometimes some kind of formwork may be required to strengthen the slope.

To simplify the lifting of the auger or drilling apparatus along with the soil, a tripod (or other frame spatial structure) made of rolled metal or lumber is assembled above the well. In addition to blocks, a winch or winch is often installed on the tripods for reeling out the cable.

The use of a drilling rig with a spiral element increases efficiency on soft soils

Well drilling

All known technologies for drilling a well with your own hands belong to one of two main methods:

• auger,
• shock-rope

The first one is good for soft rock, the second one is good for rocky rock. In both cases, work is usually carried out without the use of water supplied by a pump, although it sometimes makes sense to pour some liquid into the well during drilling. There are many factories and homemade designs drilling rigs and coils, since one or another model will be more or less effective with specific type soils.

The auger method is used when it is planned to make a well of relatively shallow depth, and if the soil does not have extensive solid inclusions. The main working equipment used here is a drill - a metal auger with cutting edges at the end. Two people rotate the tool, the knives cut into the ground and loosen it. Spiral-shaped metal blades remove waste material from working area. When the rod with handles is lowered to ground level, the drill is removed from the well and the coil is cleared of the ground. Then the drill string is extended with an additional rod, and drilling continues.

The impact method is based on the use of a hollow drilling tool (bailer) with metal “fangs” at the end, which is lifted by means of cables and dropped into the well. After several blows, the bailer rises to the surface, where crushed rock is pushed out of it through a technological hole. Impact-rope drilling allows you to reach great depths and drill a well with your own hands on fairly dense soils, whereas this method is not so practical on soft rock.

Filter design on a casing pipe using a stainless steel or PVC mesh

Arrangement of water intake

When the aquifer has been passed and the equipment has reached the impermeable layer, drilling stops. A casing pipe is inserted into the ground - as it sinks, it is gradually built up in sections using threads. In this case, the first section is cut approximately one meter in length with a grinder or holes are drilled in it with a drill in increments of 3-7 centimeters and with a diameter of 5-25 mm (depending on what kind of rock is below: sand, debris inclusions or clay). The perforated section of the pipe is wrapped in a braided stainless steel mesh, which is secured in place with wire or self-tapping screws. After installing the casing pipe, the space between it and the well is filled with fine gravel. At the last stage, the pump is installed and the head is installed.

Creating a drainage gap between the pipe and the well

Many of those who decided to drill a well manually managed to cope with the task and were able to save a lot of money. However, it is necessary to understand that in difficult geological conditions it is impossible to do without mechanization, therefore in each specific case you need to soberly assess the chances of success.

Video: how to drill a well by hand